V.Ships Leisure is teaming up with Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection to provide third-party management for three ultra-luxury ships set to hit the water over the next three years.
Both companies began discussing the partnership a year ago and have just formalised a long-term contract, declining to disclose the deal's financials or time frame.
"It took us a while to get there," Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection chief executive Douglas Prothero told TradeWinds today during Seatrade Cruise Global 2019 in Miami Beach.
"For us, they're the leaders in this space in terms of knowledge in the luxury space and it didn't take us very long to work together."
The three sister ships are being built by Barreras Shipyard in Vigo, Spain.
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection was founded in June 2017 under Marriott International-owned Ritz-Carlton Hotels.
The first vessel is expected for delivery to Florida-based Ritz-Carlton Yachts in February 2020, followed by the next two in 2021 and 2022.
Names for the ships, owned by Oaktree Capital Management, have yet to be announced.
The 298-berth ships' itineraries will sail seven-to-10-day voyages throughout the Caribbean, Central America, North America and the Mediterranean.
Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection represents the "most significant entry" into the ultra-luxury cruise market by offering a yacht-size experience, V.Ships Leisure director Per Bjornsen told TradeWinds.
He said V.Ships Leisure will recruit 246 crew members and provide a proprietary ShipSure digital ship management platform for each vessel.
The technology, developed 15 years ago and upgraded this year, will handle procurement, vessel safety and nautical operations.
V.Ships' customisable ShipSure platform and recruitment service gives Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection a "huge head start" in competing in the ultra-luxury market, Prothero said.
"V.Ships has a long history in luxury cruise so their templates fit our operations," he said.
V.Ships Leisure provides the service to about 100 cruiseships total, including fledgling Cosco Shipping-China International Travel Service joint cruise venture Twinkle Travel Cruise International.
London-based V.Group, V.Ship Leisure's parent company, is majority-owned by private equity firm Advent International.
